Skip to Main Content

Writing Competitions for Law Students: Legal Short Fiction

Tip

Sponsors/facilitators of student writing competitions provide more detailed instructions and rules at their websites.  Students need to review the information and rules available at these websites.  

ABA Journal / Ross Writing Contest for Legal Short Fiction

ABA Journal / Ross Writing Contest for Legal Short Fiction

  • Sponsor: ABA Journal, "the flagship magazine of the American Bar Association"
  • Topic & Format requirements in 2024 Contest stated: "Entries must be original works of fiction of no more than 5,000 words that illuminate the role of the law and/or lawyers in modern society."  "Entries may be unpublished, or published no earlier than December 1, 2023.  Entries posted publicly on the internet, regardless of the forum or venue, will be considered published for the purposes of the Contest, as would be any entry published in a print publication or literary journal of any kind.  The ABA Journal will be the sole judge of an entry's eligibility."
  • Eligibility requirements in 2024 Contest included: "Entrants must be U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents and 21 years or older by May 15, 2024."  "ABA officers, directors, staff members, members of the ABA Journal Board of Editors and their immediate household or family members, and freelance writers for the ABA Journal who have been paid for articles published after January 1, 2023, are not eligible to enter or win."
  • Prize in 2024 Contest was: "The winner will receive a prize of $5,000."
  • Deadline in 2024 Contest was: May 15, 2024.